


The Regret of Hesitation

by Tsukino_Akume



Category: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-07
Updated: 2014-09-07
Packaged: 2018-02-16 13:29:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2271483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsukino_Akume/pseuds/Tsukino_Akume
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn't a relationship. It wasn't even the beginning of one. It was stolen glances, faint smiles, and words left unshared. It was the chance, the barest suggestion that there could be something between them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Regret of Hesitation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheSecondBatgirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSecondBatgirl/gifts).



> **Prompt:** I was livetweeting the movie and suddenly came up with the headcanon that the two of them knew each other from previously fighting Ivan Ooze, and then of course they should make out. Go with it. (I know, crack pairing, but a fun one!)  
>  **Warnings:** Some OOC due to author headcanon, lots of background story handwaving in favor of flirting and kissing  
>  **Author's Notes:** I have a sickness.
> 
> When someone tells me a pairing is 'crack', I must immediately proceed to make it not crack.
> 
> I don't think I managed as well as I'd have liked with this one, but I had fun trying to figure out how to make it work. I hope you like it, TSB! ^.^;;

She caught her first glimpse from across the lecture hall.

Her first thought was that she was beautiful. Her hair brushed her cheek as she alternated between staring at Ranger Tensi in rapt attention and furiously writing notes. It was a fascinating shade of brunette with hints of blonde under the light. There was an intense determination about her that was at once both obnoxious and endearing. 

That feeling increased when fierce blue eyes snapped to meet her own, narrowing immediately in challenge. She raised an eyebrow, amused, and blew a kiss from two fingers when the glare increased. She was rewarded with immediate dismissal, and the brunette’s attention returned to the lecture. 

She grinned slowly. _How adorable._

****

Their paths crossed frequently over the next few months. Rumors from her gossiping roommate, about the strange Aquitian girl from a backwater planet who was said to sleep underwater and talk in a funny accent. Her usual sparring partner whining about a loss against the new fighter. Glimpses across a shared class or the dining hall. Passing in the halls; the brunette's Tactics and Diplomacy classes let out at the same time as her own Wilderness Survival and Field Triage. Entering the infirmary after a nasty accident in Bladed Weapons, receiving another one of her solemn nods as the brunette left with a bandaged hand. The library, frequently. On one occasion, they had even been reaching for the same book before the brunette caught sight of her hand and flinched away, leaving her to snatch the book up. She'd planned to offer to share it, but by the time she turned around, the brunette was gone. 

It wasn't a relationship. It wasn't even the beginning of one. It was stolen glances, faint smiles, and words left unshared. It was the chance, the barest suggestion that there could be something between them. 

She was certainly interested in pursuing her. But there was no rush. They had all the time in the world to find each other. 

Until a villain called Ivan Ooze gained control of six planets in a matter of weeks, and suddenly there was no time at all. 

****

She was a little surprised that the door actually opened, but then the beautiful brunette was in front of her again, and that was all that mattered. 

"Ooze declared ownership of Alandria a few hours ago," she informed her abruptly. "There's talk of building a Ranger team from the students to go after him." 

It wasn't news; they'd all heard the whispers, the looks from the teachers. There was an undercurrent of fear running throughout the collegiate ever since the attacks had started. The ones that weren't afraid were anxious and ready to fight. There was no telling what would happen. 

She stared into those solemn blue eyes. "If I am chosen, " And it was likely; she was one of the highest-ranked fighters in the collegiate, "I do not wish to leave with regrets." 

The brunette tilted her head to the side, looking contemplative. "I ... do not wish to be a regret," she said at last, and her voice sounded like bubbles. It was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. 

She nodded slowly. Well. At least she'd taken the chance. If nothing else, she would have to be content with that. 

A hand touched her wrist as she turned to go. 

It was just the barest of touches, but it sent tingles down her spine in a way she'd only read about. Her nerves were on fire; every sense suddenly heightened without warning. She felt hyper-aware of everything around her. 

She turned, and their eyes met. "You're a touch-telepath," she breathed wonderingly. 

Uncertainty lingered in the girl's eyes briefly before hardening in determination, and the hand lifted from her arm. It raised in front of her, fingers spread wide, waiting. 

She shouldn’t. They’d heard enough lectures over the dangers of mind-sharing and extra-sensory connection. Everyone knew how easy it was to lose yourself in the mind of another. 

But she could be gone in the morning. And she’d spend the rest of her life wondering what she may have seen if she’d only just raised her hand. 

She’d hesitated long enough. 

Slowly she lifted her hand, carefully watching the other woman’s expression for any sign of hesitation or nervousness. And when there was none, carefully, respectfully, she reached out her own hand. Their fingertips touched, slowly pressing forward palm to palm. 

_She is small, learning to swim at the surface for the first time. The air tastes strange and cold, and she finds herself diving back under for the safety of the warm water. Her mother gestures patiently, reminding her to surface, but she shakes her head stubbornly._

_She is fifteen, leaving her world for the collegiate without so much as a backward glance. Her tribe is skeptical, her parents angry, but none of it matters. She is going to do great things; she will not allow herself anything less._

_Swimming through a school with her classmates, laughing as the fish swirl around them. She reaches to touch them as they pass, fascinated and curious all at once._

_Climbing trees with the other children in the village, each daring the others to climb even higher. Refusing to back down until she finds herself breaking through into the open air, and she laughs at the feeling of the wind in her hair._

_The exhilaration of winning her first sparring match._

_The feeling of pride at debating her teacher to a stalemate while the students around them gaped._

_Stolen glance across a room. A flirty smile. Annoyance slowly fading into fond exasperation._

It only took moments. A shared sixteen years in the space of a rapid heartbeat. And yet it left a profound, deep understanding and intimate knowledge of the woman in front of her that should have taken a lifetime. 

"Delphine," she breathed, and what a beautiful name for such a fascinating, beautiful woman. "Delphine ... " 

She wanted to touch her. To hold her close and kiss every inch of her skin. To run her hands through that lovely hair that she now knew the other woman had always secretly hated. 

Delphine tilted her head with that contemplative look again. After a moment, she reached out to trace hesitant fingertips along Dulcea's lips. 

She stared at her in surprise. "You don't have to - " 

"I said," Delphine interrupted, "That I do not wish to be a regret." 

_I could never regret you._

It was all the warning she had before the other woman leaned forward, pressing their lips together. 

One kiss turned into dozens, turned into more than she could count. A simple touch of hands was suddenly the most intimate gesture she could imagine, linking their minds in an instant until she could no longer remember where one of them ended and the other began. And then a simple clasp wasn't enough, and hands were wandering everywhere. She no longer cared who they belonged to. 

****

Lying naked side by side the next morning, watching Delphine's soft gaze back at her as she traced along the curve of her hip, she knew neither of them had any regrets at all. 

****

There were still no regrets barely a week later when she left with her new team in search of a legendary Great Power to battle Ooze, leaving her beloved Delphine behind at the collegiate. They would meet again, soon. She would make certain of it.


End file.
